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The Net Zero Fund is a new sub-fund carved out of the existing AUD 15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), established under the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023. Rather than new appropriated money, capital is drawn from the NRF's existing allocation and administered by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC). The fund's distinguishing feature is its concessional pricing: it targets a rate of return of the five-year Australian government bond rate minus 1 percentage point — materially below commercial lending rates and below the NRF's typical commercial-return mandate — explicitly designed to de-risk decarbonisation capex at large, energy-intensive industrial facilities (steel, aluminium, cement, chemicals) where abatement projects otherwise fail standard investment hurdle rates.
The fund was announced on 18 September 2025 alongside the broader Net Zero Plan 2050 and sector emissions-reduction plans (see responds_to), then went through a design/consultation phase (consult.industry.gov.au/net-zero-fund) before finalising its design and formally opening to applications on 20 April 2026.
decarbonisation capex (steel, aluminium, cement), which otherwise struggles to clear commercial hurdle rates under standard project finance.
duplicating it — FMIA credits are output-linked, the Net Zero Fund is capital-cost-linked, together covering both sides of a facility's decarbonisation investment case.
Zero Fund is a reallocation decision worth tracking against other NRF priority areas (critical minerals processing, value-add in resources, defence capability, medical manufacturing).
20 April 2026); watch NRFC quarterly reporting for first disbursements.
separation) will be prioritised under the Net Zero Fund alongside steel/aluminium/cement, given overlap with the Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve and CMPTI instruments.